Pathfinders’ Annual Pumpkin Run kicked off this morning with an official send-off from Tilbuster Station.
This year’s highly anticipated Pumpkin Run departed Armidale with a convoy of more than 40 young people and staff beginning the journey to Newcastle and Sydney. Over 10 tonnes of pumpkins were loaded into utes and trailers, with an Armidale Police escort leading the team out of town.
The pumpkins will be used by the team to prepare and serve pumpkin soup to those experiencing hardship and homelessness.
Multiple special guests joined our team at Tilbuster Station to show their support and wish everyone involved well on their journey. Special guests included the Mayor of Armidale, Sam Coupland, Deputy Mayor of Armidale, Todd Redwood, Jim Maher from Armidale Men’s Group, Director of Purkiss Rural, Jimmy Chen, and Bruce and Allira from Department of Communities and Justice.
Tilbuster Manager, Toni Simmons, addressed the group, expressing his gratitude and thanks for the support they receive from the community and spoke about how special and unique this program is:
“These are one of the programs where I’ve been able to witness something quite special, where the environment, staff, and support from our senior managers is quite involved- and the results speak for themselves.”
Pathfinders CEO, Alan Brennan, acknowledged the dedication and hard work from the team, speaking about how the weather had thrown a few challenges their way but the team persevered and adjusted, showing just how resilient our young people are:
“This is a lesson for our young people, they need to be resilient. Life is not easy, you are going to get a lot of hard knocks. And that’s what Tilbuster is all about. Patience, perseverance. We’ve got a tremendous team at Pathfinders who help young people and show them the way to grow. The majority of young people who come to Tilbuster do take that message with them into their lives.”
The first stop for the team will be Soul Hub in Newcastle, where they will be hands-on in cooking, serving and preparing fresh meals for community members in need.
